Archetypes In Children's Books

A person’s interpretation and understanding of a text is based on different things; like a reader’s background knowledge and expectation of a story. This is especially true when it comes to children’s books as they often follow a recognizable template that is simple for young readers to understand and enjoy. Still, these simple books still include archetypes and universally recognizable symbols. Children use common archetypes to make predictions about a text. A reader who is aware of archetypes will look at a book more analytically, identify character roles easier, and understand storyline and plot structure more clearly. When a reader understands and can identify archetypes in text, they can read a book more analytically and look for deeper meaning within it. An example of this was demonstrated when our class read to preschool children. Being unaware of archetypes and symbolism, their perception of the stories we read to them differs from ours. The younger student took the stories at face value, not closely noting the colors or themes. However, they unconsciously accepted the archetypes based on their prior knowledge of themes and roles within fairy tales. For instance, they immediately distrusted the ‘big bad wolf’ as he was drawn
in dark colors that contrasted to the bright sunny backgrounds he was placed on. Since from a young age we associate muted darkness with evil and negative, the archetypes of colors already affected them. So, archetypes help a reader analyze a text more deeply. Next, familiar archetypes allow people to judge a character role in a story; the actions that we identify as stereotypical can guide a reader’s perception of the character.
The student I read to pointed out to me that the wolf was the “bad guy” and Little Red Riding Hood was the “good guy”. Although these roles aren’t directly stated, they are very obvious and lead him to make predictions about that rest of the story based on these archetypal character associations. The villain’s style of animation and expressions shows the reader that they should be wary of this character and predict that they will probably cause problems for the protagonist. Therefore, archetypes in a text help to label characters in their given role in the
story. Finally, archetypes can let us identify reoccurring plotlines and structural patterns. I asked the first boy I read to what he thought was going to happen to the protagonist when the villain threatened them; he responded that the hero was going to defeat the villain in the end. In fairy tales, there is usually a happy ending for the hero and after they complete their task the book is over. He recognized the conflict/resolution archetype and expected the happy ending that goes along with it. In contrast, when stories break their archetypal molds, they can surprise readers with unexpected endings. But children’s books usually do not employ these plot twists to keep things easy to follow. So, we can identify archetypal plots in a story to make predictions and set expectations. In conclusion, those who are aware of archetypes can read a text more analytically, use standards to categorize characters, and understand archetypal plot points by making connections. Children, while not consciously aware of these archetypes, still observe and recognize the symbols present in the story. Therefore, it is evident that both young and advanced readers’ understanding are affected by archetypes in a story.